


tonight, even my empty heart will be colourful

by resipsaloquitur



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novels)
Genre: Boss/Employee Relationship, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, rating for swearing!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 04:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30032871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/resipsaloquitur/pseuds/resipsaloquitur
Summary: It’s the Edenbrook cocktail mixer, and Ethan and Jun escape to reflect under the stars.(An alternative to the mixer scene and the following diamond scene in Open Heart Third Year, Chapter 1!)
Relationships: Ethan Ramsey/Main Character (Open Heart)
Kudos: 4





	tonight, even my empty heart will be colourful

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by _Attention_ by SHINee, particularly the alternating soft and powerful vocals and the lyrics to the prechorus and chorus!
> 
> ..........also inspired by me listening to _Heart Attack_ , _Attention_ , and _Kiss Kiss_ on repeat. I think I’m just going through it… aha.........

To Jun, a resident with a basement apartment lease and a seemingly insurmountable amount of student debt to his name, the glamour of the newly renovated Edenbrook Hospital felt foreign.

So was the feeling of wearing a freshly tailored, olive green suit.

He was never the type to care much about how he dressed, but nearly losing your job before your final year of residency would make anyone want to turn over a new leaf. Not to mention he’d stick out next to his stylish, put-together friends, and he could practically hear his mom and sister nag about how he never explores beyond his trusty suit from medical school. 

And so, there he stood at the edge of the hospital atrium, glass of prosecco in hand, uncharacteristically dapper. 

The evening was slowly drawing to a close. Celebratory speeches were given, and Jun had made the rounds around the hall, catching up with colleagues and cozying up to Bloom out of obligation. Following the lull in tempo, he topped up his drink and contemplated his plans for the night. Though he and his roommates all promised to unwind at a karaoke bar afterwards, none of them seemed ready to leave yet.

“Need company?”

Ethan had snuck beside him, looking elsewhere while sipping on scotch—his trademark drink. Perhaps he averted his gaze out of habit, still accustomed to months of clumsily directing attention away from their relationship. _As if we’re fooling anyone now. We went public in the most obnoxious way possible_ , Jun thought, hiding a laugh. 

“I'd love some. Cheers,” he replied, raising his glass. Smiling, Ethan reciprocated.

“I haven’t seen you much tonight," Ethan said. "Enjoying yourself?”

“You know just how much I love sucking up to Bloom,” Jun muttered, resting his head against Ethan’s shoulder. Ethan snorted as he placed a hand on Jun’s waist.

“You and me both.”

The two laughed, relaxing in each other’s presence and touch. They comfortably slipped into conversation about what they found out about their colleagues during the mixer. Elijah’s enthusiasm and optimism somehow rubbed off on Zaid—yes, it was because of research, but it was surprising nonetheless! Harper was excited to take on a different side of medicine with a familiar face (and without the administrative work she definitely didn’t miss). Sienna told Ines that she was ready to try dating again, much to Jun’s relief, who was worried sick about how Danny’s passing had affected his best friend. Oh, and the salmon blini was _divine_.

Being free to be their true selves, not having to second-guess the optics and ethics of their every move, it was cathartic. However patient Jun normally was, any more unclear answers and circuitous talk between them about fine lines that shouldn’t be crossed would have driven him mad. Yet, despite it all, he could still feel the stares on them. He wasn’t sure if they were of scrutiny or curiosity, or if it was his paranoid subconscious playing tricks, but the uncertainty sat uneasily with him, just as Edenbrook’s sleek, impersonal architecture did.

“Want to get away for a bit?” Ethan asked, noticing Jun had trailed off, suddenly interested in the bubbles of his drink.

“That’d be nice. I could use a change of scenery.”

“Like to where, the on-call room?”

“Oh, fuck off,” Jun groaned in mock offence, snapping out of his daze. “No, not the on-call room—I mean somewhere like outside. What is this, Grey’s Anatomy?” 

Ethan smirked and took a celebratory sip, basking in the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of him. Jun knew that smug look all too well. He’d let him have this victory. At least, until he could get back at him.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist,” Ethan said. “Lead the way.” 

Jun arched an eyebrow as he took one last swig of prosecco.

“Well, aren’t you the pinnacle of romance, _Dr. Ramsey_?”

\---

That night, the clear sky was inviting, the cool evening breeze a refreshing contrast to the typical humid summers. The two found themselves wandering hand in hand around the hospital’s garden. It was just them and the stars, in the company of perfectly manicured flowers and the harmonies of impatient, honking drivers nearby. Urban anonymity felt blissful. 

“So, what’s on your mind?” Ethan asked.

“You noticed something was up, huh?” Jun replied, tilting his head back to face him.

“You aren’t trying to constantly outwit me like you normally do.”

“So it’s _not_ because of your great intellect and top-in-the-nation diagnostic skills perfected through years of experience?”

“That too—I appreciate the flattery.”

Jun rolled his eyes at Ethan before grinning and squeezing his hand. “That’s enough stroking your ego for an entire month.”

He knew that, behind the banter and cockiness, Ethan was carefully observing his gestures, analysing anything and everything that could possibly be troubling him. But unlike the stern, calculating gaze he donned for work, his eyes were warm and curious, wrinkles betraying a smile. 

Jun ran a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated sigh, as if trying to make himself relax. He hadn't realised how tense his shoulders were.

“It might honestly be these changes getting to me,” he confessed. “Edenbrook having more than enough funding and resources beyond my imagination… Of course, after being poisoned and nearly _dying_ , I’m beyond grateful to even have a stable job. But with Bloom prioritizing the glory of being the best over, I don’t know, actual fucking patient-centred care? It’s sometimes hard not to feel like this is all so absurd.” 

Ethan glanced up at the sky, a quiet laugh escaping him. “I had a hunch it was about this. Good to know two years of residency hasn’t killed your idealism.”

“Seems like there was supposed to be a ‘yet’ at the end of that sentence,” Jun said dryly. 

“Hey, I thought it was my job to be the pessimistic one in this relationship. Cynicism doesn’t suit you.” 

A pause settled between them. Ethan had stopped to turn towards him, his expression steady but reassuring. For the first time in, frankly, a while, Jun took in the quiet, grounded by Ethan's presence, away from all the worries, anxieties, and stress that had accumulated in his mind over God knows how long.

Ethan was the first to break the silence.

“Look, after everything that happened the past year, you know how I’m also concerned about inequity, but how I let that cloud my judgment in unhelpful, counterproductive ways—” Jun raised his eyebrows knowingly. Embarrassed, Ethan cleared his throat. “Er, how I’ve recently had to grapple with the same disagreements about how healthcare works sometimes. You, the one who rightfully called me out and put me in my place, out of all people, should know that there’s no use in wallowing without taking action. That you’re not alone in this fight. Who says we can’t fight from within and beat that bastard at his own game?”

Closing his eyes, Jun breathed deeply, wondering how he got so caught up in his own thoughts that he lost sight of what was so important to him—that Ethan, the one he loved, was by his side.

“I needed to hear that, even if it was my own words echoed back at me,” he finally let out. 

Ethan smiled fondly. “Come here.”

Drawing him in, Ethan held Jun’s cheek as he kissed him softly, as if reassuring him, and perhaps himself, that they felt the same way. Jun stood on his tiptoes, leaning into it. The familiar taste of scotch and coffee on Ethan’s lips was nostalgic.

“You really are more rebellious than I make you out to be," Jun teased, gently tugging on the lapels of Ethan's suit jacket to kiss him once more. "Fight from within, huh?”

“Not my fault that you underestimate me,” Ethan countered, tipping his head ever so slightly to look down on Jun even more. Yet another defeat Jun would have to concede, though Ethan had an unfair advantage.

“Well then, if I underestimate you so much, how about you join me for a night of karaoke—"

“No.”

“What, you don’t want me to serenade you with *NSYNC and other classics of the late ’90s and early 2000s?” Jun asked as he wrapped an arm around Ethan’s waist, grinning widely. Ethan playfully messed Jun’s barely tamed hair.

“In front of almost all the third-year internal medicine residents and a crowded bar? I don’t care how good you are at singing. That’s a death sentence.”

“How heartless!”

As they slowly made their way back to their friends and colleagues, shoulder to shoulder, their laughter ringing out into the night, Jun could feel that his heart was full. 

And he wouldn’t have it any other way.


End file.
